Worth Melting For
by Crocus of Spring
Summary: A slow-burning, romantic tale about Arendelle's Queen and Princess rediscovering the love they once shared and finding, to their mutual surprise, that this love runs much deeper than either thought. My first ever Fanfic! [Elsanna, Icest, Canon, Non-AU]
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **This story is (or will hopefully become) a slow-burning, romantic tale about Arendelle's Queen and Princess rediscovering the love they once shared and finding, much to their mutual surprise, that this love runs much deeper than either thought. While the focus of this story is on the developing relationship between Elsa and Anna, it is an ELSANNA pairing and yes, I intend things to get a little blue in later chapters. If you are personally offended by this then, by all means, don't read it.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"Your highness?"

Without her noticing, the door to Queen Elsa of Arendelle's study had opened and the plump face of her lady-in-waiting had appeared in the gap. In the darkened room beyond, Queen Elsa put down the book she had been pretending to read and looked up.

"Yes Gerda, what is it?" she said.

"The chief surgeon is here to see you, m'lady."

Elsa sighed. "I'm fine. Please tell him that is it much more important that he see to my sister immediately."

"But my lady, he says that he already has. Seen Anna, I mean. She is –" at this the face disappeared from the door for a moment to confer with someone on the other side "– yes; your sister is perfectly well. Now, please, we must see to your health as well. Particularly after such a… trial, as these last days have been."

Elsa knew there was no point arguing, especially with the ever-inscrutable Gerda.

"Very well, send him in."

The door closed for a moment and Elsa could hear muted voices and the shuffling of footsteps. She took a deep breath and cast her gaze to the guttering embers in the hearth to her side. Everything seemed so unreal now, so distant as fatigue wracked her slender frame. Had it only been that morning when her sister had come back to life, that the curse had been lifted?

It all felt life a lifetime ago. She remembered holding Anna in her arms as the boat carried them back to the castle. Anna was full of life, but still so cold to the touch. A residual effect, no doubt, though Elsa refused to let her go. Gerda and Kai had to both practically pry Elsa's arms off the younger woman once she was safely asleep in her chambers. After, she recalled stumbling into this anteroom and collapsing into a seat by the fire. It has been roaring then.

"Your majesty."

An older man, dressed in black, with spectacles giving him an owl-like appearance was bowing to her at a respectful distance. As the royal family's personal physician, she had seen the man a handful of times in her life for brief checkups and so forth, but always under the watchful eyes of her mother and father.

"Doctor Magnussen. Thank you for visiting the princess first. I trust she is well?" Elsa said, the strain in her voice clearly evident.

"Yes ma'am," he said, "princess Anna is very tired after her ordeal but, apart from a few scrapes and bruises, she appears none the worse for wear. In fact, she seems more spirited then ever, demanding that I conclude my meeting with you in all haste so she may check upon you herself, despite my cautioning her to rest."

The queen smiled at this news, recalling the precocious, impatient girl she knew in their youth. The girl she had now been gifted the chance of getting to know again.

"Well, I shall try not to keep you then, Doctor. But," here the Queen's smile faded, "do you think there will be any… lasting effects from, uh, what I did to her?"

Dr. Magnussen's shoulders sagged in sympathy.

"I shouldn't think so, ma'am," he said, "her temperature is normal. She shows no signs of illness to my physician's eyes. But perhaps my eyes are not trained in matters of this sort. Might I suggest, ma'am, that if your sister's wellbeing is of particular concern to you that a consultation with an expert in the field of, ahem, magic, may be in order?"

Elsa was initially confused by this suggestion until she remembered part of Anna's rambling recount, during their trip back to the castle, of her own adventures over the last several days. It was the trolls, she recalled, who had discovered her frozen heart and revealed its cure. They seemed to know far more about Elsa's magic than even she did. Perhaps a visit to Grand Pabbie wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"My sister has been talking to you about trolls, has she?" She said.

"Quite." The man said with an uncomfortable chuckle. "Now, ma'am, I hate to keep a lady waiting, so if I may?" The Chief Surgeon continued, referring to Elsa's overdue checkup.

"Yes, of course." She said.

* * *

Anna came racing into the room, wearing only the loose chemise she had been sleeping in, her auburn hair sill in plaits from coronation day.

"Elsa! They wouldn't let me in until the doctor had seen you. Are you okay?" She began, breathless.

"Anna." The Queen said, reaching out and embracing the younger woman tightly. How long had it been since she had even touched another human being before this day? Now she couldn't get enough of it – her sister's warmth. The feel of her skin. Yet Elsa still reflexively checked her hands for gloves before remembering – yet another habit she would have to break.

"Anna, it's so good to see you. It sounds silly, I know, it's only been a few hours and–"

"No, I know," said Anna, tears welling in her eyes, "we don't have to be apart anymore, Elsa. I just want to be here with you. I just want to have a sister again."

And with that Elsa noticed that she too was crying, great tears of joy mingling with Anna's own where their cheeks were pressed together. They held each other like this for some time before Anna finally pushed them apart in order to sit them both down, unsticking a chair from the frost that had gathered on the floor and scootching it over just to be closer to her sister as they sat.

"Now, the doctor?" Anna said, sniffling away the last of the tears.

"Oh, he says I'm fine. He was more worried about the bump on my head than anything else." Elsa said, reaching to rub her temple where she had struck the floor of her ice palace when the chandelier fell.

"Oh Elsa." Anna said, reaching to place her hand over her sister's.

"I just need rest, that's all. It's you I'm worried about Anna." The Queen said, taking her sister's hand in her own, enjoying the once-forbidden contact.

"The doctor suggested that we visit your friends the trolls," she went on, "to make sure being, uh, frozen hasn't caused any damage or anything like that."

Elsa could see that Anna was unconvinced. "And I'm hoping they might have some answers for me, too. About my powers. And, maybe on the way you could properly introduce me to your… friend?"

Anna brightened at this.

"My friend? You mean Kristoff? Oh, I forget that you guys have only just met! I accidentally trashed his sled, though, you know, so I don't think he could give us a ride… Oh wait, there's no more snow! We could take horses! Does he ride a horse? Oh, maybe he could just ride Sven, although–"

"Anna!" Elsa interjected with a broad grin, "I'm sure we can sort out the details later. I'm just glad you think it's a good idea. Right now, though, there's too much to do here. I have to ensure all the guests depart safely, and make reparations for the damaged ships. And you were telling me before about Prince Hans –"

"Ooh, don't even mention his name! I'm too furious to even think about that man!"

Anna's face flushed red at the thought and she made to stand.

"It's okay Anna," Elsa replied quickly, reaching for her sister once more, "he's under guard in the west tower. We can work out what to do with him tomorrow."

"I'm so sorry Elsa. If I hadn't stupidly rushed off with the first guy I'd met, none of this would have happened."

"It's not your fault Anna. Manipulation was his game all along. How were you to know?"

"I should have known! I was just so desperate to meet someone, someone special and I only had like a day to find them. One day! If it hadn't been him it would have been someone else. I feel like such an idiot."

"No, it's my fault," Elsa rose to look her sister in the eyes, "you said it yourself – I've been the one keeping you prisoner here, and then to let you out only for a day – to tease you like that, then snatch it away from you? Of course you'd try to reach out to people, that's who you are Anna. You're the most generous, kind-hearted person I've ever known and I've just been selfish this whole time. I've been so preoccupied with keeping myself locked away from the world it didn't even occur to me that you were locked in here with me. I treated you like a stranger and, and…"

Anna head crackling at the corners of the room, ice spikes reaching towards them, the cold of the air pinching at her cheeks.

"Elsa, please, it doesn't matter any more. The doors are open now, not just for one day. And like I told you before, I'm not going anywhere. Because for the first time in forever I _have_ found someone special. I found my sister, Elsa. I found you."

* * *

Elsa awoke with a start, terrifying nightmares of swords and ice still playing across the insides of her eyeballs. It was late morning judging from the sun streaming in through her bedroom window. She looked over at the tangle of red hair and bedsheets lying in the crook of her left elbow and allowed herself to relax, hoping that the sudden movement hadn't woken her sleeping sister.

Both women had been utterly exhausted following their emotional conversation the previous night and had barely managed to drag themselves into Elsa's bed – Anna flat-out refusing to be separated from her sister, despite Elsa's weak protests.

Elsa wondered that Gerda or Kai or even Earl Lonning hadn't tried to wake them before now. There was certain to be so much work to do today for Arendelle's Queen. Lonning especially, she thought, would be desperate to speak with her.

Earl Lonning had been Elsa and Anna's Father's closest confidant and was acting as Arendelle's regent during these last the three years, while Elsa came of age. It had fortunately been a quiet time for Arendelle, and the old country gentleman's rather limited grasp of politics had not been sorely tested. Not like it is going be over the next few days, at any rate.

No, Elsa thought, no more hiding. It would be all up to her to set things right with both Weselton and the Southern Isles. And with her own people, for that matter.

The years since her parents' death had been an especially difficult time for Elsa, leaving her utterly alone and cutting short any preparation she may have had for ruling the kingdom. Her input had still been required on important matters of state, of course, but usually that just meant tediously relaying messages to Lonning through Gerda; who was the only attendant permitted to see the then-princess Elsa on a daily basis. Fortunately Gerda, being Elsa's aunt on her mother's side, had sufficient standing in court that this arrangement was never questioned.

And there was another thing, Elsa reflected. It simply wouldn't do to have old Gerda and Kai as her only retainers now that she was Queen. She didn't need an army of servants, but she'd need people she could trust to help organise things. She'd need someone close, someone like…

"Huh, yeah, I'll be there in a mmm…."

Elsa felt a stirring to her side, and couldn't resist cuddling up to the prone figure of Anna just a little tighter.

"Oh, well, maybe just one." The voice continued to mumble.

"Anna?" Elsa whispered in her ear.

"Hmm? Ugh, what time is it?"

"I don't know, no one woke us."

"Elsa? Oh, wow, I'd forgotten."

Anna groggily sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"I haven't seen this room in so long. Hey, maybe I can move my bed back in here, like old times?"

Elsa smiled.

"I'd like that." she said, still lying down, as she looked up at her sister's face haloed against the bright window beyond.

Anna had finally taken her hair out of its braids last night and Elsa was already drifting off to sleep by the time she was done. It was only the brushing of her sister's frazzled hair against her nose as she climbed into bed next to her that caused Elsa to half wake her up.

She remembered in that dozy, unreal state, Anna blowing out the candle and saying goodnight to her. She remembered something else too – a kiss. It was a small gesture, Anna had leaned over and planted a simple peck on Elsa's lips, lingering for just a moment. "I love you" she'd said.

The memory hit Elsa like a slap. She reached a hand to her lips, touching them without thinking, as if for the first time. The kiss had been so soft and warm. The tenderness of it made Elsa's heart want to melt. As she looked at her beautiful sister, bathed in sunlight, all thoughts of politics fled her mind.

"Hey Anna?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you wanna build a snowman?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Note:** Thanks to everyone who left reviews on the last chapter. Getting an idea of how the story is being received really helps to keep my writing on track. This is the very first piece of fanfiction I've ever written, I'm learning as I go, so please keep the feedback coming!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"I'm sorry sir; until the queen says otherwise, entry to the castle is restricted to official business only."

Kristoff paced before the guard in frustration.

"This is official! I'm the official representative of, uh, Valley of the Living Rock. I have very official business with the princess!"

"I'm sorry sir. Many people wish to see the queen and the princess. I will have word sent, but their majesties are very busy and aren't taking visitors at this time."

"I was in here just yesterday! I helped bring Anna and Queen Elsa in from the fjord! You must have seen me, or someone must have told you to let me in, or–"

"We will inform you of any change, sir. Please keep the way clear."

Kristoff let out an exasperated groan and stormed off towards the shaded side of the courtyard, where Sven and Olaf were waiting.

The castle's main courtyard had remained open to the public, as was the guest wing of the castle where Kristoff had stayed the night, but all entrances to the castle-keep appeared to be locked down and closely guarded. What were they afraid of? Had Elsa reverted to her old self, closing herself away behind closed doors? Was she even the one giving the orders? Maybe there'd been some kind of coup d'état overnight and they now had her and Anna locked up somewhere? Kristoff had to get in there and find out!

He found Sven preoccupied with staring down the owner of a nearby vegetable stall and turned to Olaf instead, who was talking animatedly with a group of young children that had gathered around him.

"…Ooh, here he is now." Olaf turned to the approaching figure. "Kristoff, these are my new friends Tabitha and Jonas and Harald!"

Kristoff couldn't help but catch the glare coming from the children's parents, each standing over their charges as if Olaf would, at any instant, turn into an abominable snow-beast. He tried to meet their collective gaze with a fairly unconvincing grin.

"Is he your snowman?" The girl named Tabitha asked.

"Uh, what? No. No, he's his own snowman, I guess." Said Kristoff.

"I bet he belongs to the Ice Queen!" exclaimed one of the boys – either Jonas or Harald, Kristoff hadn't been paying attention.

"Queen Elsa made me. I'll have to go ask her if that means she owns me or not." Olaf said.

This set off a chatter of excitement amongst the children that in turn translated to worried disapproval amongst the adults. So people still aren't sure what to make of Elsa, thought Kristoff. Guess it figures, after everything we've been through.

"Mama, can we go with Olaf to see the Ice Queen too?" the girl said.

"No Tabitha, can't you see you're bothering the man?" said the girl's mother said, her eyes darting up to meet Kristoff's bemused expression, "I'm very sorry, mister. We have to go now, come along."

She began hustling Tabitha off in the direction of the main gate, the others in their group taking the cue to do likewise. But once they were only a few paces away, the girl squirmed loose from her mother's grip and lept toward Olaf for a goodbye hug.

Kristoff wondered that the girl's mother seemed almost scared to even acknowledge Olaf by reaching for her daughter, and instead just stood there calling for her. The other adults behaved in much the same way; pulling out pocket watches or pointedly looking elsewhere. It was as if they couldn't quite believe they were in the presence of a talking snowman, so had simply resolved to ignore it until it went away.

Say, thought Kristoff, that gives me an idea…

"That was nice." Said Olaf as he waved goodbye to Tabitha following their embrace.

"Hey Kristoff, that man you were talking to before?" he said.

"Who, the guard?" Kristoff replied.

"Yeah. He didn't seem happy."

"Heh, yeah, I guess he didn't."

"You should have given him a hug. Hugs always make me happy."

"Couldn't have made things any worse," said Kristoff.

"Say, Olaf," he went on, "do you really want to go see Queen Elsa?"

"Ooh yes, that would be great!" said Olaf.

"Well, she's somewhere in the castle," Kristoff said, gesturing, "How about I just wait here with Sven while you go look for her? And while you're in there, do you think you'd be able to pass on a message to Anna for me?"

* * *

"C'mon Elsa, don't be shy!"

Anna had just launched herself backward into the miniature bank of fresh powder snow Elsa had created in their small private garden at the rear of the castle grounds.

"…Just like a pillow." She said, enveloped to her nose in the cold, slightly damp softness.

"Huh?" said Elsa, who was standing some distance away, staring intently at the swirling, palm-sized blizzard hovering between her outstretched hands.

"Uh, what? Oh nothing. I said don't be shy; I know you can do so much better than this little patch of snow!"

"It's just, it's so soon. I don't want to push things too far just yet." Elsa said, as she began to carefully build up another small snow-bank beside the first.

"But you know how to control it now. It's safe when you're with me."

"Yeah. It was always safe when I was with you. I just wish I hadn't forgotten that."

At this Anna began to awkwardly attempting to stand from the bank, managing to get mostly free before her lower half was re-buried in a mini-avalanche. She sat back down with a thump.

"What do you mean, like, always?" she asked, blowing stray snowflakes off her nose with a snort. "You never used your powers around me. Not ever."

"Oh, I mean, before Mother and Father decided to– I mean, we were always so close when we were young and my powers were never…" Elsa averted her eyes, pretending to be interested in the icicles she had formed on a nearby tree.

"What I meant to say was," she continued, "I _should_ have known that I'd be safe with you."

Anna looked intently at her sister, a quizzical expression lingering for just a moment before being masked behind a wide grin.

"Well you know now, silly!" she said, then began a second, much more successful attempt to break free of the snow.

"Now, come on then, let's do something fun! Why don't you try freezing that lake? We can try ice-skating! Oh, hold on…"

Anna strode over to the tiny garden lake, barely more than a water-feature, hitching up her skirts as she did so.

"…I'd better get the ducks out, haha." She said.

A mother duck and her gaggle of ducklings were currently paddling around the centre of the lake. Anna knelt at the bank and leaned over to splash at the water, hoping to shoo them to the edge where she could safely scoop them out.

"Anna, I don't think that's such a good–" Elsa began to say, before being interrupted by a short scream and a loud splash.

"Anna!" she said, running towards the other woman, now half-submerged in the brackish water. Elsa had reflexively reached her hand out to Anna when she'd begun to slip at the water's edge, feeling the tingle of her ice magic at her fingertips, but she'd hesitated. Could she still not direct her powers near her sister, even now?

"Oh great." Anna said, sitting up in the shallow water with a huff. "Help me out, will you?"

Elsa reached forward gingerly for her sister's hand. Anna grabbed it firmly, began to lever herself up, but then pulled hard. Elsa was caught off balance and tumbled into the lake beside her sister, spinning as she fell. Instantly, the surface of the water directly below Elsa turned a solid, frosty blue. She landed hard on the new-formed ice, backside-first.

"Ow!" exclaimed Elsa, as the ice spread across the lake's surface, causing Anna to leap hurriedly up one bank while the ducks scurried up the other, lest they all be frozen in place.

"Guh, you could have done that for me, you know. I think I'd prefer a sore backside over a ruined dress. I can hardly play in the snow now!"

Elsa looked up, rubbing her bruised tailbone and feeling that some revenge was in order.

"It's not my fault you fell in, clumsy." She said. "Besides, it's only you and me out here. Just take it off."

A look of wide-eyed surprise came over Anna, before quickly melting into a devilish grin.

"You!" she yelled, splashing water into Elsa's face. As the water travelled through the air, it transformed into a light burst of snowflakes, which gently dusted the queen's features.

"C'mon Anna, don't be shy." Elsa said mockingly.

"Grrr!" Anna exclaimed in mock-annoyance, striding off towards the fresh snow nearby.

Elsa began to stand and could see her sister was doing something with her back turned. The next thing she knew, a snowball was sailing past her head at some speed.

"Oh no you don't!" Elsa said with a laugh. Taking a deep breath and brushing asider her fear, she extended a single finger and sent a tiny bolt of energy her sister's way. Within seconds, Anna's water-soaked dress had frozen solid.

"Oh you cheater!" Anna yelled, struggling to free herself of the constraints of the now-solid clothes.

"This is really cold, you know!"

"I know." Elsa said, as she reached to her side for the large snowball she'd just seen in the corner of her vision, intending to direct it at her momentarily captive opponent.

"Hi Elsa!" The head of Olaf said in her hands.

"Ahhhh!" screamed Elsa, dropping Olaf's head. His body ambled over and promptly lifted it back into place.

"Olaf?" Said Anna, her voice emanating from somewhere within the frozen dress she had almost managed to shrug off.

"What are you…" she continued, directing the neck-hole through which she was peering like a telescope first at Olaf then at Elsa, "Elsa, why are you going to throw Olaf's head at me?"

"Oh Olaf, you scared me!" Elsa said, as the sudden swirl of snowflakes that had leapt up around her in her initial shock began is subside.

"I've been looking for you. Sorry it took so long. I asked this nice lady in the castle where you were, but she just screamed and dropped some plates. I thought that maybe she was trying to tell me that you were in the kitchen, but there were only more screaming people in there."

"Why were you looking for me, Olaf?" said Elsa, getting down on one knee to speak to the snowman.

"Uhhmm… oh yeah! It's because Tabitha and Jonas and Harald want to know who I belong to. I said you made me, but I don't know if that means I belong to you or not." Said Olaf.

Elsa smiled benevolently at the little snowman, "Oh Olaf, you don't belong to me! You're my friend. You belong to yourself. You don't owe me anything."

After a moment's thought, she added, "Except for warm hugs."

"Who's Tabitha and Jonas and, uh, Harry?" said Anna, who was now free of the dress and standing in her petticoats.

"Oh they're my and Kristoff's new friends. Hey, Kristoff had a message for you Anna! He said that, uh, that you'd better go find him because Sven misses you."

"Kristoff! I – oh, I should go see him, he's probably really worried." Anna said, charging off for the castle entrance with all her characteristic sudden determination.

"And he also said something about a new sled." Olaf finished.

The queen felt a shock run through her. Had the morning disappeared so quickly? For so long Anna had just been little more to her than a forlorn shadow in the castle's empty halls, a songbird's voice on the other side of a door. Now just the thought of not seeing her for a few hours was enough to turn Elsa's blood to ice. She spun on her heel to face the retreating figure.

"Wait, Anna, I was hoping that we would be able to talk." Elsa called after her sister.

"But you heard Olaf," said Anna, turning, "he's been waiting all morning."

"So has everyone, Anna. You know we've only had this morning to ourselves because the council and the staff and everyone else have given us a reprieve, right? I don't know when we'll be able to just be together like this again." Elsa pleaded.

"I had a letter from Earl Lonning this morning," she went on, "he's pretty anxious for Arendelle's queen to start, you know, queening. That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What do you mean, Elsa?" Anna said, turning.

"I… I want you to be Arendelle's chancellor, Anna. I just can't do it without you." Elsa said.

"What? Me? Oh Elsa, I'm not sure what to say. I don't… I mean, politics isn't really–"

"I don't need another politician, I need a friend. I need my sister. I'm sick of being alone, facing everything on my own. You said you wanted to be there for me – well, this is how you can do it. Please, just think about it, okay?

"Sure Elsa, I will." Anna said, stepping forward and taking both her sister's hands in her own. Elsa, once again despite herself, jumped at the unfamiliar warmth of Anna's palms, and gripped them tightly.

"Soo, can I see Kristoff now?" Anna said sheepishly.

There was that pang again. Elsa convinced herself that it was simply her nerves at the thought of being left alone without the only other person in the world she could truly rely upon. 'It's just you and me' Anna had said, after their parents had died. But now, with Kristoff, what if that wasn't true any more? Elsa quickly pushed the question out of her mind.

"Of course! You don't have to ask my permission." She said.

"Yay!" Anna said, quickly planting a kiss on Elsa's cheek, "C'mon Olaf, let's find Kristoff!"

Elsa stared after the princess as she made her way back to the castle, still feeling strangely nervous. There was something else nagging at her too, something…

"Anna, wait, your clothes!" she called after.

* * *

"Hi everybody! Sorry I'm late! What are we all talking abut?"

Anna came skidding to a halt in the council room, leaving a bewildered page in her wake to quickly shut the door she'd flung wide open.

"The, ahem, orders of the day," came a voice from the far end of the room: a dusty, grey voice, "we are very nearly concluded."

As her eyes adjusted to the gloomy candlelight, she could see it was Earl Lonning who had spoken. He was sitting to the right of Elsa at the head of the long table in the centre of the room, while the other council members; Kai, Gerda, the castle steward and a few others she didn't recognize, were arrayed on either side.

"Oh, hey, great." Anna said, as she began to drag a spare seat towards the head of the table.

"Well, if we – oh, excuse me, sorry. Uh, if we're just bringing up general important stuff, I noticed that there's still lots of ships in the harbour and Kristoff –"

Anna squeezed the seat into the small gap at the corner of the table to Elsa's left, causing Kai to shuffle aside to make room. She had to stifle a giggle at the sight of the grin on Elsa's face as she sat down.

"Phew! Kristoff was saying that's because all these people are hanging around looking for an audience with you, Elsa. He said they're practically lining up at the gate because the guards keep turning everyone away. Has anybody mentioned anything yet?"

Lonning, who always looked exasperated, simply frowned.

"It is on the agenda. I have collated a list of several of the more important dignitaries – allies, trading partners and the like – which I will put to her majesty in due course."

"Okay, great. But I was thinking that, instead of what you just said, why don't you get everyone together and, like, have a big fancy speech at them, Elsa? Kristoff says they all just want to hear from you what happened. He says there's lots of rumours going around, some of them are pretty mean."

"May I enquire, my lady, as to who this Kristoff is, who seems to know the workings of the kingdom so well?" Said the Earl.

Anna's eyes narrowed.

"He's a… friend." She said.

"He is a gentleman who aided in the rescue of both myself and my sister, and the kingdom is indebted to him." The Queen said, maintaining her regal posture while turning her head only slightly to the left and right, making it clear she brooked no argument.

"Now, may we continue with the business at hand?" she said.

"Your majesty," began Earl Lonning, peering at his notes through the half-frame spectacles perched on the tip of his nose, "I'm afraid we must now come to the unavoidable question of what to do with Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. While we can all appreciate the severity of his crimes, the king of the Southern Isles will not tolerate his son's languishing in our prison indefinitely. From what I have been told, the usurper has committed acts tantamount to high treason and therefore a trial would be in order. However, as you are aware, the penalty for treason is death. If he is found guilty, and I have no doubt he would, the king of the southern isles would be forced to –"

"I want him out of Arendelle immediately." Elsa interrupted flatly. "I want a full account of his deeds dispatched to the King of the Southern Isles, and I want it made _crystal_ clear that if Hans or any member of his family ever again sets foot within Arendelle's borders, they will have much more than one of my sister's punches to look forward to."

Elsa shot a sidelong glance at her sister hoping to catch a reaction. But Anna simply wore a faraway, wounded look. Elsa sighed inwardly. It would be a long time before Anna could laugh about Hans of the Southern Isles.

"Excellent, your majesty. Francois of Normandy has already offered the use of his ship for the swift return of the scoundrel to his native lands." Said Kai.

"Unfortunately," Kai went on, "Francois has informed me that all the ship's cabins will be occupied for the journey, so Hans will have to make do with a rather cramped space in the ship's hold for some time."

"You've been planning this, haven't you, Kai?" said Elsa.

"I may have been making some enquires while your majesties were, ahem, indisposed." He beamed at both Elsa and Anna.

A wry smile crept over Elsa's face.

"Very well. To the next order of business – what 'enquiries' have you been making about Weselton?"

"The Duke denies any sort of conspiracy with Prince Hans in his plot." Lonning began.

"His men tried to kill me, Lonning," Elsa said to the Earl before turning back to her old attendant, "Kai?"

"Well ma'am, I personally believe the Duke was simply taking advantage of the situation as he saw it. He strikes me as the sort. And we would never be able to prove that his men were acting under his orders and didn't just get carried away in the heat of the moment. Might I suggest cutting all diplomatic and trade ties with Weselton? It would certainly send the little fellow a message about where in Arendelle's favour he stands."

"Very well Kai, see it done" said Elsa.

"Your majesty, I must protest." Said Lonning, "We rely on Weselton for any number of trade goods. And now especially – word is just beginning to come in that this, uh, artificial winter has played havoc with crops throughout the kingdom! While I pray the damage has been limited, we will not know the full extent of it until harvest time."

"The kingdom should be strong enough to survive with a reduced harvest. Didn't we have an exceptionally strong yield last year? Things may be tough for a while but –" Kai began.

Elsa didn't hesitate for a moment.

"We will expand trade with the Southern Isles. They owe us reparations, I will make it clear that we expect full holds and low prices. And any citizen who has suffered as a result of the events of the past week will be compensated from the royal treasury. I will personally see to it that the funds are distributed fairly, that repairs are carried out and farms re-stocked. I want the people to see that I alone am responsible for what happened, and I will make it right."

Anna realised she was staring at her sister. The dim candlelight in the shuttered room had seemed to catch in the queen's eyes as she spoke until they blazed like cut crystal. No, like ice. Cold wind sprung out of nowhere and swirled about Elsa. Without thinking, Anna reached under the table for Elsa's hand and grasped it tight. In an instant, the strange aura which had enveloped her sister seemed to vanish.

If Lonning had noticed the temperature in the room dropping, he showed no sign of it.

"If times do become difficult, the tide of public favour may turn against you my lady. The people already know you are the cause of this winter, short though it may have been. If any more suffering were to result, if you were to give them any more reason to fear their Queen –"

"It'll be alright if you just talk to them Elsa." Said Anna, "You just need to let them in! Show them that you're here to help, that your powers are nothing to be afraid of. Oh!"

A thought visibly struck Anna.

"You should show everyone your powers, do something cool with them! Like, like, uh… make them a big ice-skating rink, like today in the garden, but the whole courtyard or something!"

"Your majesty, I must strongly advise against any overt use of your, uh, abilities. The populace has not yet recovered from your last display and would justifiably shy away from anything that could so easily go awry."

"I will take your opinion under advisement while I consider the matter, Earl." Elsa said, trying to sound business-like despite her growing impatience.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, are we done? I have promised to meet with the merchant guild and I believe there is now a speech I need to write." She addressed this last remark with a smirk to the seat at her left.

"Actually, your majesty, there is one other matter." Continued Lonning stolidly, "It does not require your full consideration at this time, but I believe it bares –"

A loud sigh emanated from Gerda's seat, the first sound she had made since the meeting began.

"He thinks you need to find yourself a suitor, m'lady." She said.


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: **For those who may have noticed that this chapter disappeared for a while there, I decided to take it down and revise it after reviewing some of the feedback I received. Hopefully this isn't something I'll make a habit of!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Elsa stared incredulously at Gerda, who had the good grace to at least look sour about having to speak up on Lonning's behalf.

"I'm sorry, did you say a _suitor_?"

The queen was tired. The meeting had run long into the afternoon and the new dress she had worn for the occasion was digging painfully into her back. Elsa had thought business with the council all but concluded and had placed her hands on the edge of the table to stand. Now she felt her fingernails digging into the lacquered wood, her knuckles turning white.

Don't let them see, she thought.

"Yes ma'am," said Lonning after a sharp glance across the table at Gerda, "It seems only fitting now you have come of age that you consider, in your own time of course, strengthening the kingdom through marriage."

Elsa felt anger rise like bile in her throat. She had to fight to control her urge to turn the impudent old lord into an icicle, right then and there. Streaks of frost began to extend from her hands across the tabletop.

Anna sat at her side staring, unconsciously fidgeting with her dress. A suitor? For _Elsa_? She almost had to laugh; picturing the powerful and intimidating queen seated demurely in the corner of a sitting room, her crotchet in her lap, fanning herself while the equivalent of one of Hans's older brothers tried to woo her.

But then another image entered her mind, of Elsa laying in the arms of a man, this time not some stuffed-shirt bully, but a strong and handsome lord. And she's laughing, genuine laughter like Anna hadn't seen since, well, forever. Then suddenly Elsa is lying not just in his arms, but in his bed! A look of pure desire smouldering in her pale blue eyes…

Whoa, where did that come from? Thought Anna, her heart skipping a beat at the strange mix of feelings the idea evoked.

As for Elsa, dreams of dashing young lords and bedroom trysts could not have been further from her mind. She simply stared at Lonning; unable to formulate a response to what she had to suppose was a deliberately crafted attack on her sovereignty. What else could it be – suggesting she was not fit to rule without a man to help her? He probably already had a friend of his in mind for the job.

"I understand that you have not entertained or corresponded with any young noblemen in the past, so I have taken the liberty of –" Lonning went on, impassive in the face of Elsa's growing rage.

"You have taken far too many liberties, Earl." Elsa practically snarled at him, barely restraining the venom in her voice.

"Oh no." said Anna under her breath, realising she'd been too distracted to read Elsa's cues. She'd just noticed the frost but now the room was getting decidedly chilly. Tiny, glistening snowflakes were beginning to appear, swept up by impossible air currents.

Elsa's going to go all ice-crazy again because of this idiot, Anna thought, feeling her own anger surge within her. If the old politician was trying to get a rise out of her sister, no way would he get away with it on Anna's watch.

Without knowing quite what she was going to do next, Anna stood, anxiously smoothing out her dress where she'd been playing with the fabric.

"Umm, I think that as Arendelle's Chancellor, I think that maybe I should be the one to discuss this with Els- I mean, her majesty. In private." she said as all eyes around the table swivelled upon her. A few of the councillors, confused by the protocol of the situation, half-stood for a moment before sitting back down.

"Because this matter, uh, pertains to the royal family. And that's us, me and her. The ones in charge."

She stood up straighter, "You may give me a briefing in _my_ office, Lord Lonning, and _I_ will decide whether her m–"

"That will not be necessary." Elsa said, rising out of her seat. The room was filled with the sound of chairs scraping on flagstones as, this time, everyone stood in unison.

"I do not believe the kingdom requires 'strengthening' at this time," she turned to face Lonning, her jaw clenching, "I will be the strength the kingdom needs."

Looking back to the assembled councillors she continued, "The meeting is adjourned. Thank you all for coming. Good day."

Elsa remained standing rigid at the head of the table as all assembled bowed and silently filed out. Anna too, a little uncertainly, made to leave before Elsa reached for her sleeve.

"Wait." She said quietly.

As soon as the doors closed, leaving the two sisters alone in the room, Elsa slumped forward and slammed her fists down on the table. Instantly the frost that had been coating the tabletop exploded outward into a forest of sharp, glistening spines; some as long as Elsa's arm. Anna jumped back reflexively.

"Grrrr," growled Elsa through gritted teeth, "you don't know how frustrating this is Anna."

Elsa clenched her eyes shut and hung her head between her outstretched arms in exasperation. Without looking up, she lifted a hand and with a slight flick of her wrist the ice spikes vanished.

"Whoa that was… intense." Said Anna, open-mouthed. She placed a hand on her sister's sagging shoulder and gave it a tentative squeeze.

"You don't know what it's like, to feel this power coursing through me and not being able to do anything about it." Elsa said. "I got to taste freedom up there on the North Mountain and now I'm here I feel so constricted again, so powerless. I could have murdered that pig Lonning with a snap of my fingers!"

Elsa snapped her fingers as if to demonstrate, causing Anna to tense with fright. But rather than a deadly bolt of energy, only a small puff of harmless snow burst forth. Anna breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah but, you're the queen Elsa. That's just a different kind of power." Said Anna, leaning in to try to meet Elsa's eye.

The queen shook her head and breathed deeply, feeling fatigue begin to wash away the anger.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be burdening you with this. Especially since I see you've already taken up the other burden I asked of you."

"If you mean the Chancellor job then yeah," replied Anna, "I can't believe that Lonning creep was chancellor under Dad. He must have driven him up the wall! You're much better off with me, _your majesty_." Anna stepped back and gave her sister a small curtsey. The queen brightened a little at this, much to Anna's relief.

"By the way, I'm reaaaly sorry I was so late just now," she continued, "it's just I really wanted to surprise Kristoff with a new sled like I'd promised so I went down to the coachbuilders, and then we got talking about the design and–"

"It's alright. I'm just glad you showed up when you did." Elsa said, finally straightening up and stretching her sore back.

"But seriously;" Anna continued, "suitors? Dating? Where did _that_ come from? Haha."

Elsa rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, I don't know Anna. Lonning is clearly playing at something. Maybe he was just trying to sound me out. See if I would snap. Well, he got what he wanted."

"So you're not going to-" Anna pushed on apprehensively.

"No Anna. I thought I made that pretty clear. And I don't want you to even so much as broach the subject with Lonning either."

Relief washed over Anna at her sister's unequivocal rejection of the idea. But relief quickly turned to anger as her thoughts turned to the Earl.

"Hey maybe," said Anna, "Earl Lonning only mentioned it because he's gotten used to being in charge and doesn't want to take a back seat to a _girl_. Maybe he just wants to set you up with one of his cronies. I bet he'd be happy to take orders then!"

Elsa huffed, turning to her sister, "Well now that you're head of the council, we'll see how he likes having _two_ girls in charge."

"Yeah!" replied Anna with a mischievous grin.

"Speaking of which," Elsa leaned in towards the younger woman conspiratorially, "I'm going to need my chancellor to start talking to people, getting to know the other council members. Getting to know what's up. We've both left Arendelle to its own devices for far too long, and we need to catch up, fast."

"You can count on me, your highness!" Anna said, beaming.

Elsa's expression remained stern.

"This is serious Anna. You remember what Lonning said about the tide of public favour? I think that was meant as a warning."

Up close in the candlelight, Anna could now clearly see the strain written on Elsa's face. Platinum hair framed cheeks as pale as fresh-fallen snow while Elsa's eyes, normally so alive with spirit, seemed sunken and dimmed.

"I'm not a people person like you Anna," Elsa said, "I just… whenever I'm with anyone but you, every instinct I have is screaming at me to run away. I can almost hear it roaring in my ears. It takes all my energy just to keep it in. And it's not just the magic, it's everything. I'm… tired, Anna. I don't have the strength to do this alone."

Anna's heart sank. She had been wrong about a lot of things recently, and her biggest misjudgement had been her own sister.

She'd grown up taking it for granted that Elsa was the strong one; the beautiful and assured future Queen. When Anna first saw the true extent of Elsa's powers on the North Mountain it only cemented in her mind that Elsa was something extraordinary, that she was not subject to the anxieties of mere mortals like Anna. And today, walking into the council chambers and laying eyes on the proud, regal figure exuding confidence at the head of the table, Anna had been taken in once more.

She felt stupid and childish for letting her awe of the queen overshadow the real, fragile human being beneath. And Elsa wasn't even shutting her out this time – quite the opposite in fact.

"Oh Elsa," Anna said, taking Elsa's hands in her own, "You don't have to. You'll never have to. I promise."

She began leading Elsa unresisting towards the door.

"Come on, that's enough queening for one day." She said.

* * *

"May I have a word with you, your majesty?"

It was after supper and Elsa was walking the corridor alone to her chambers for the night. The voice had come from behind her, but she did not need to look in order to recognise its speaker.

"Of course Gerda," she said, "what would you like to talk about?"

"Would it be possible to go somewhere a little more private, m'lady?"

Elsa raised an eyebrow as she turned to face her lady-in-waiting.

"My Father's study is just over here." She said, gesturing.

As they entered, Gerda closed the door gently behind them.

"You know, m'lady, this is _your_ study now." She said, conversationally.

Elsa had paused, as she always did upon entering this room, to glance at the large framed portrait of her father in full regalia hanging on the opposite wall. Long-buried grief knotted in her stomach as she quickly looked away and made her way to a chair by the empty fireplace.

"Yes, you're right. I suppose it was always such a forbidding place when I was younger. I still feel like I should be asking his permission to be here."

"You are Queen, your majesty, you need not ask anyone's permission for anything."

To this Elsa just smiled, taking it as a harmless bit of ingratiation.

"He was a good man, the old king. Your father." Gerda went on conversationally, she too regarding the portrait on the wall.

"It was only at his insistence that they permitted me a seat at the council after I'd renounced my titles." She said.

"I've often wondered why you did that Gerda," Elsa said, "You could have succeeded as regent, or at least had some say in Arendelle's rule beyond the council chambers."

"Oh, I could never lay claim to such a thing," Gera demurred, "I'm no royalty, m'lady, not by a long shot. Not like your mother was, rest her soul. And these power games have never held interest for me.

"No m'lady, I chose to serve. Without a husband I had no lands to speak of, and my titles I owed entirely to my sister marrying into the royal line, so I wasn't really losing anything when I gave them up. It allowed me to stay close to the family, you see."

"Surely you could have stayed with us as a noblewoman?" Asked Elsa, now genuinely interested in her aunt's story. Elsa had regarded Gerda little over the years. She had been Elsa and Anna's governess when they were children, among her many other palace duties, but as the sisters had grown older Gerda had taken on a more servile role until she seemed more like a castle fixture than close family.

"Oh no, they wanted to marry me off to some country lord, or ship me off to my uncle's court in Corona. Serving in the royal household was my only option. And after seeing you and Princess Anna grow up into the fine women you are; I have never once regretted my choice."

"Well, I'm glad Gerda. For a long time your voice was about the only contact I had with the outside world."

"It should never have been that way m'lady," said Gerda sadly, "locking you away like that. It wasn't right."

Out of habit, Elsa looked down at her hands which were resting in her lap. She could feel the power tingling in her fingertips even now.

"It was for the best," she said automatically, although hindsight was beginning to make her question that statement, "did you know… why? At the time, I mean?"

"No. Your parents never told me. I'd always assumed it was some kind of illness. Doctor Magnussen was always so cagey when I asked after you. But I'm glad now to see you venturing out more, even under the circumstances. I have to say, m'lady, it broke my heart to see you and your sister separated."

Elsa stared into the empty hearth. Mine too, she thought.

"It's cold in here your majesty," said Gerda, following the queen's gaze, "let me fetch someone to tend the fire."

"Is it?" Elsa asked absently, her thoughts still lingering on her 'curse' and the way her family had dealt with it.

After a moment she stirred, feeling Gerda's expectant gaze upon her even as the older woman had placed a hand on the door handle. Clearly her aunt, ever one for protocol, was waiting to be prompted.

"It's fine Gerda," the queen said with a wave and a sigh, "you don't need to do that. If you've come to speak to me about what I think you have, then this shouldn't take too long."

"If you mean Earl Lonning's advice about the suitors m'lady, then yes, what I'd like to say is related to that." Gerda said, her face betraying nothing as she turned back to the room and practically stood practically to attention.

"But I'm not here to play peacemaker for the Earl. He can do that himself if he wishes. It was actually Princess Anna who suggested I come and talk to you."

Elsa's expression turned to a wry, inward smile. Already on the case – you certainly could never fault Anna's enthusiasm.

"The old man is tactless and presumptuous, and if I may say, I think you did well to dismiss him as you did." Gerda conceded, "But the Earl and his sort won't be put off forever, not with a young, eligible beauty on the throne."

"Even with your firebrand of a sister laying down the law on your behalf." She added with something that, on Gerda, approached a smile.

Elsa suddenly pictured her sister storming into Lonning's chambers and giving him a proper dressing-down.

"She hasn't spoken to Lonning about it, has she?" the queen asked, worried.

"Oh no, the princess saved the lecture for me, your majesty." Gerda said, "It's just that, I worry for you, m'lady. A time will come when… I don't know if your mother had a chance, before she passed, to prepare you for your duties at queen – specifically in dealing with the, uh, attentions of men?"

Blood ran to Elsa's cheeks as she suddenly guessed why Anna had put the old spinster up to this.

"Oh heavens Gerda, you're not going to try to teach me about the birds and the bees are you?" the young woman said, a look of genuine wide-eyed terror crossing her features.

"No! No, nothing of the sort m'lady. Unless, uh…"

Elsa was sure her face was practically glowing. She looked sharply at her lady-in-waiting and raised her voice, putting up an indignant front to hide her growing embarrassment.

"Gerda, please! I was eighteen when mother and father disappeared. Trust me; I've learned everything I need to know."

Why do these so-called advisors insist on treating me like some naïve teenager? Elsa thought, beginning to feel truly indignant about the situation.

"And if you think I don't wish to consider Lonning's list of potential suitors just because I don't think I can deal with some aristocrat's sycophantic spare son trying to court me," she went on testily, "then I'm afraid you've made the same mistake he has."

Elsa tried not to think of Prince Hans as she said this, and hoped she had not given Gerda the impression that she was merely wary of men after what had happened between him and Anna.

"It's not that, m'lady." Gerda strove on undeterred, "I know you want to cement your reign on your own terms, and I can understand your anger at the Earl. I just wanted you to know that when the time eventually does come, if you ever need to talk about it-"

Elsa was definitely not in the mood to share her feelings. She needed rest, and time to get her thoughts straight. Why could nobody understand that this was something she just didn't want to talk about? Why was everyone so insistent? She hadn't even been queen for a week – was this what it was going to be like all the time?

Ugh, Elsa thought – just the prospect of having to deal with everyone's agenda for her every day made her want to slide under the chair she was on and sleep forever.

"But what if I _never_ want to, Gerda?" She snapped, "I mean, just picturing it seems absurd. And don't start on about my obligation to Arendelle. I have so many more important obligations to the kingdom right now!"

Elsa was aware that her irritably was not making her come across at all dignified, and that simply annoyed her more. She wished she could somehow just end the conversation without seeming obstinate or riding roughshod over Gerda's gesture of conciliation. It was never meant to be like this, she thought.

As a young princess, Elsa had whiled away countless hours in her room, imagining the queen she would become. In those elaborate daydreams, she would always be a much older woman, having succeeded her father in the natural course of things. She would have conquered her curse, too, and become the wise and beloved matriarch to Anna's vast family. Aunty Elsa, they'd call her; while noise and laughter would fill the castle's empty halls. But the people would call her the virgin queen, and look to her with reverence as she ruled Arendelle – justly and alone. Not once had boys and romance ever entered into it.

Yet here she was, Queen at only twenty-one, having to face a future she had never considered. Was she just being stubborn? Was this worth alienating the only woman besides Anna who even remotely knew her?

"Look," the queen began after taking a moment to regain her composure, "I know I've shut you out in the past, and I want that to change. You and Anna are the only family I have left. I _do_ want to be able to confide in you Gerda, and I know I have so much to learn. But when it comes to marriage, my mind it made up."

Elsa stared at Gerda, her large eyes beseeching.

"Please." She said.

Throughout Elsa's outburst, Gerda had simply stood, hands by her side like a kindly and somewhat rotund sentinel. Elsa had always found her aunt annoyingly inscrutable and yearned for some read on her now – some confirmation that that was indeed the end of it.

"Yes your majesty. But-"

Oh damn, Elsa cursed inwardly. She sagged in her seat and put a hand to her forehead as she felt a headache coming on.

"-begging your pardon if I am stepping out of line but I am not talking of your duty to Arendelle. I'm talking about your duty to _yourself_. Everyone needs companionship, m'lady. That's what was concerning me. Surely, after all this time alone, you must long to let someone into your heart?"

Or at least into your bed, thought Gerda crudely, beginning to give up hope of getting her point across to the young queen.

Elsa stared at the floor, her cheeks really burning now. She was uncomfortable with the sudden personal turn this conversation had taken but she had backed herself into a corner now. If she was being honest, though, Elsa had been desperate for another woman to confide in for years. It was true she had Anna, but there were _things_, thoughts she couldn't quite articulate, which Elsa found strangely unable to share with her sister. Even, or maybe especially, now that they were trying to become closer.

Elsa decided to take the plunge.

"No I _don't_ Gerda, that's just it!" she exclaimed, wondering dimly why her thoughts had turned to Anna once more.

"But haven't you ever been curious for the, uh, pleasure of a man's company?" Gerda pressed on undaunted, "It's alright for a woman in your position to carry on affairs, if you wished. There isn't a young man alive in the kingdom who wouldn't-"

"Gerda! Don't be ridiculous!" Elsa protested, shocked at her servant's forwardness, "If you must know I… well I've just never really thought about it, I suppose. I've certainly never desired the 'pleasure of a man's company'."

"Ah." Said Gerda, simply.

This time, if Elsa had been paying attention she would have finally spotted a reaction from the woman, just a flicker behind her stony eyes. The queen wasn't paying attention, though. Introspection came easily to Elsa from years spent in her own company but these questions probed at a part of her she had walled-off and neglected for so long, they left her feeling confused.

"So, are you just not… interested in boys?" Gerda asked gently.

Elsa wanted to answer Gerda, she opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came. Which was even more confusing – it was a simple enough question.

Elsa's hesitation seemed to confirm something to Gerda. Within a second, she was sitting in the char beside the queen and placing a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. Elsa noted the break with protocol, but let it go.

"It's alright Elsa" Gerda said, "neither am I."

Gerda regarded the lost young woman before her thoughtfully.

"I can see your mother never talked to you about _this_." she said.

* * *

Anna lay awake in bed, the sheets tangled haphazardly about her ankles. She was gazing out the window of her room. It was faint, but if she stared long enough she could make out the shimmering ghost-light of an aurora, painting ribbons across the clear night sky. She sighed and flung an arm over her eyes, trying to block out the light.

"The sky's awake…"

She was thinking over the events of the day: her happy yet strangely self-conscious visit with Kristoff, her almost being late first day as chancellor, her dinner with Elsa.

It had been so nice just to be able to talk to her sister again, if only in little snatches of conversation. And to be let into the 'inner sanctum' gave her a thrill of excitement, simply knowing that the sister who had always shut her out actually trusted her so much. But everything had changed so quickly it was all so hard to digest – in some ways her sister still felt like a stranger to her. When Elsa walked into a room and looked her in the eye with a smile, she felt just as many butterflies in her stomach as any lowly courtesan would under the penetrating gaze of their beautiful queen.

And then there was Kristoff. Trying to sort out her feelings for Kristoff was like wandering blind into a blizzard. It was all so new and confusing and still tainted by the betrayal of the first man she had opened herself up to. Although she felt she could trust Kristoff, who had his heart in the right place if nothing else, Anna had chastised herself for her girlish dreams of romance so many times since Hans had revealed his true intentions that she had to wonder whether she'd just latched onto Kristoff for the same silly reasons. I'll have to talk to Elsa about it, the princess decided.

No sooner had the thought occurred to her than the butterflies began flapping again. She rolled over in bed with an exasperated sigh. Why should I be nervous to talk to my sister about relationship stuff? Isn't that what sisters are for?

At that moment, in the silence of the sleeping castle, Anna thought she heard a muffled shout coming through the wall. She sat up with a shot and pressed her ear to the wallpaper above the headboard.

There it was again, louder this time – a scream.

* * *

Great flurries of stinging ice and snow, thick and cold, whipped about with unnatural speed; forming ephemeral phantom shapes in the air before Queen Elsa's eyes, blocking out any trace of the pale, twilit world beyond an arm's reach.

The blizzard raged despite her willing it to cease. In fact it seemed to grow more violent every time she attempted to control it with magic. The howling wind blasting her to and fro like a ragdoll, snowflakes spearing into her exposed skin like a plague of wasps.

"Stop!" She screamed into maelstrom, but her voice couldn't even reach her own ears.

"I'm sorry, please, I'm so sorry!" She cried, falling to the icy ground. Her palms forward, she buried her head in her arms as her tears froze to her cheeks. Suddenly she felt something brush her fingertips, a shape on the ground before her.

Her eyes were glazing over, freezing shut. She blinked and rubbed it away, but squinting could see nothing in the storm. She groped forward – it felt like a boot, an ankle, a leg. But all as hard as stone.

Elsa pulled herself unsteadily to her feet and leaned in. There was a figure amidst the swirling snowfall. A statue. She peered closer still. A face peered back, blue and cold. A familiar face.

"Father!"

She stumbled over backwards in fright and lost her footing on the slippery ice. At that very same instant, the storm cleared, all at once as if it had never been. Elsa could now see dozens of statues, no, ice-sculptures arrayed before her. She recognised Kai, Gerda, Lonning, Kristoff and even Sven. All of Arendelle was there, and at the head of the host stood her mother and father, in silent condemnation.

"Father, I never meant to hurt anyone! I swear! Oh God-"

In his hands, the old king carried a sword seemingly carved from a single shard of ice, its edge glittering of its own accord. Slowly, ever so slowly, his head turned. Elsa followed the ice man's gaze.

"No. No!"

In the distance, standing alone, was Anna. Frozen and still.

Elsa screamed.

With all the haste and power of a great mountain glacier, her father raised the sword and–

"Elsa! Elsa, wake up!"

Elsa's eyes flew open. Anna's face was hovering in the darkness a few inches from her own. Not blue and cold, but flushed and full of life.

"I- you?" Elsa cried in confusion.

"Shh, it's okay. It was just a dream." Anna said, trying to sound soothing but still panting hard from her sprint into Elsa's room.

Elsa propped herself up on her pillow, blinking her eyes clear as the adrenalin slowly retreated from her system.

"Oh Anna, it was terrible. I… why are you rubbing your arm?"

Anna, who was crouching on the bed beside Elsa, gave her sister a sheepish grin.

"Oh, well, I heard you yelling and thought you were being kidnapped by assassins or whatever so I ran to your door and of course your door is always locked so…"

Elsa sat up straighter and stared across the room. In the moonlight she could see the clearly unlocked door to her bedroom hanging wide open from where Anna had shoulder-charged it and fallen straight through onto the floor.

"Anna, you're always coming to my rescue!" Elsa said with a smile, letting her guard down as the memory of the terrible dream began to fade. She reached out to rub her sister's bare shoulder for her.

"Ow, that's cold!" Anna yelped. The queen's skin had become as cold as ice while she dreamt, and her touch sent a shock through the princess. Elsa, however, let her fingertips linger for a moment as she marvelled inwardly at yet another new sensation – the feeling of goosebumps prickling against her flesh.

"Sorry, how's this?" she said, releasing the pent-up warmth within her. She felt Anna react to her touch with a pleasant shiver and wished she could make it warmer still.

"Yeah, I think I like this better." The younger woman replied, putting her own hand over Elsa's.

"Sorry Anna," Elsa yawed, still exhausted from her restless sleep, "I keep forgetting you must be really sensitive to the cold after what happened. My head's been all over the place. I didn't even ask if you were you feeling any better today."

"Ugh, both you and Kristoff now. I'm _fine_ Elsa."

Elsa furrowed her brows quizzically her sister.

"What about Kristoff?" she said.

"Well, he was telling me I should get 'checked out' by the trolls too, just in case. I told him that you'd said the same thing, and he seemed to think that settled it."

Elsa smiled, "That does settle it! We shall depart for the valley of the living rock on the morrow!" she said, waving her arms lazily in the air for dramatic effect before nestling into her pillow and pretending to sleep.

"You just want an excuse to get out of here, don't you?" Anna goaded, prodding her sister in the ribs.

"Don't you?"

"Well, yeah, but not to run away. Especially not so soon. Running away is just another way of hiding. And you've got a speech to give first, remember?"

The queen groaned, feeling worries stack on top of other worries in her mind.

"Save your lectures for Gerda, Anna. I'm tired." She said grumpily.

"Elsa!" Anna pestered.

"Oh I know. I just can't think of anything to say. I can't make people like me the way you do. Even if I convince them I'm not a... a _monster_, I'm still just this shut-in girl with no idea how to rule a kingdom, and they'll see that. I just feel like I'm lost all the time."

A monster in more ways than one... Elsa shuddered, Gerda's words about desire taking different forms for some people still fresh in her mind.

Anna could hear the uncertainty and, yes, fear in her sister's voice; like she had heard on the north mountain only days ago. But she knew this time it wasn't sorcery that worried her sister, or even bad dreams, but something that ran much deeper. Something she wasn't sure she would be able to fix.

Anna found herself regretting again for the millionth time all the days she and her sister had lost. Time together to talk about these things, to open up to each other. But now their days were too full and their nights were – well, she could barely keep herself awake as it was. She'd have to save propping up Elsa's confidence for another time.

Anna felt a contagious yawn come over her as she began to sit up.

"Just wing it, you'll be fine." she said, leaning over her sister, "Besides, how can you be lost, now that I've found you?"

She kissed Elsa lightly on the forehead, just a quick brush of lips against invitingly cool skin. In response Elsa reached up with one hand and began to absently trace her fingertips through Anna's messy auburn hair, following the path the former shock of white had once taken, then dropping to Anna's shoulder as her sister pulled away.

"Anyway Elsa I really, really wish we had more time to talk," Anna said, reflecting that maybe a quiet trip together into the woods for a few days might be just the chance she needed, "but it's way too late. Or too early. Either way. Sleep tight, okay? No more bad dreams."

Anna swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up to leave.

"Wh- Where are you going?" said Elsa, her tired voice betraying her agitation as she gripped the shoulder where her hand had lain.

"I can't stay here." Anna said quietly.

"Why not?" Elsa began to feel her heart thump in her chest. Images of Anna's frozen statue, forever lost to her, flitted across her vision. She glanced around her spartan bedroom, to the empty wall opposite.

"You said you would move your bed in here… I just, I don't know if I can be alone anymore Anna."

Anna looked back and could instantly see the pleading in her beautiful sister's pale blue eyes. Mingled with the ghostly light from the window, they reminded Anna of the fjord in a thunderstorm. And there was her reflection in there too, adrift on the rolling waves. Anna began to wonder if there truly was still some ice left in her heart because a sharp, cold pain seemed to twist within her to see her at the sight.

"Oh Elsa. It was silly of me to say that. You're the queen and… it wouldn't be right for me to-"

"No, it's alright I understand. You don't want to share a room with your sister if you're to be entertaining Kristoff." Elsa said, trying to sound matter-of-fact and failing.

"What!? No, it's not like that at all!"

Anna quickly grabbed her sister's hand and lay back down beside her.

"Elsa, me and Kristoff... I like him, but, we're taking it slow, I guess. There's no _entertaining_ going on. I just thought you wouldn't want me hanging around all the time, being a nuisance, getting in the way of all your official stuff and –"

Anna was about to mention not wanting to intrude on any suitors of Elsa's own whom she might wish to entertain in her chambers, but thought better of it.

"If you want me here," she went on, "I'll be here. I'll always be here for you, Elsa."

"Then stay," Elsa said, squeezing Anna's hand, "please. Just for tonight?"

"Alright Elsa," she said, pausing to climb under the covers, "Now roll over, silly, so I can give you a hug."

Elsa laughed and wrapped her arms around her sister, her only love in the world.

"Goodnight Anna." she said.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Thousands packed the palace's great courtyard, corralled practically shoulder-to-shoulder by scores of watchful guardsmen. From the third storey balcony on which she stood, Elsa surveyed the vast crowd gathered below, willing herself to remain as cool and steady as the stone walls surrounding her. Only a handful of ships remained in harbour now, visible by the tips of their masts bobbing above the castle walls in the distance, yet it appeared to Elsa that everyone in Arendelle and half her surrounding realms had turned out for the queen's first ever public appearance.

Well technically it was her second ever public appearance, Elsa reminded herself ruefully, although she hoped this one was progressing a little more smoothly than the last.

The sun had just dipped below the mountains to the west, veiling the castle in evening shadow and giving the gathered throngs the appearance of one great, seething mass. Elsa could just make out stallholders and food vendors at the ground's periphery, lighting their lanterns and no doubt enjoying the surfeit of hungry customers.

_Just wing it_, Anna had said yesterday. Elsa almost had to shake her head.

Her address had started strongly enough, some time ago. The introductions had been dispensed with and she had discussed recent events with what she hoped was honesty and dignity. She'd promised Anna there would be no more secrets, no more hiding - and feeling the younger woman's gaze on her from within the darkened anteroom beyond the balcony, she'd tried her best to hold true.

She had been worried sick all day while preparations inched along around her. It was not the threat of losing control of her powers again that concerned her, or even her skill at public speaking – she found that even now, standing before the unfamiliar multitudes, she could slip into the 'good girl' role once more like putting on an old familiar dress. So even as her emotions raged, she spoke calmly and lucidly, and held herself with poise. It was the very thing she'd been training all her life for, after all.

No, the thing that most worried her was the one and only thing she was trying to achieve with this day: how to show the kingdom who she really was. She could tell them the facts, she could apologise, make promises – but how could she connect with them?

_Be yourself_, Gerda had advised her. But take away the ice and snow, Elsa thought, and I don't know if there is any 'myself' left to be.

Lonning had been right - they had plenty of reasons to fear her, but what reason could she give for them to love her? What did she really have to offer them?

She didn't even have her sister's sense of humour or wit or ability to improvise, something Elsa was keenly aware of as she realised she was fast running out of things to say. She took a deep breath.

"So, lastly, I'd like to introduce you all to my first official appointment as your Queen." Elsa said, pausing as the criers at the edges of the crowd repeated her words for those out of earshot. She glanced over her shoulder at the young woman waiting in the wings, just out of view from below. Elsa had to stop herself from staring yet again at the breathtaking sight of her.

"I'm sure many of you have already seen her about the capitol, since it's hard to keep her indoors these days. And so, I hope that soon you will be able to meet her in person. Could you please welcome Arendelle's new Chancellor: Princess Anna of Arendelle."

Elsa stepped aside to make room for Anna on the small balcony as the princess nervously inched forward at her cue.

"You look _incredible_." Elsa whispered in Anna's ear as she took her position at the queen's side.

She meant it too. Anna was decked out in a full-length sleeveless gown of purple and green with a sequinned choker necklace of fine black lace interwoven with glittering pale blue gems she had obviously chosen to match Elsa's own gown of ice. She wore her strawberry hair up in a beautiful braid that had taken most of the morning to construct, and on her ears Elsa caught a new addition that she hadn't seen before: small silver earrings, each shaped like a single perfect snowflake.

"Uh, hi everybody! Thanks for turning out!" Anna yelled, waving at the assembled masses. Half-contained giggles rippled through the crowd as the criers repeated her words, some even mimicking the gesture.

The princess turned red with embarrassment, but strove on regardless.

"I guess you know I'm Elsa's sister, or, well, maybe you don't. But anyway, here I am and I'm ready to get down to work! As chancellor, uh, it's my job to listen to what people have to say, and make sure things get done. Which is great for you guys because I'm the only one my sister listens to. Haha. So if you want anything done up here, I'm your girl!" Anna beamed, sticking out her chest in mock-confidence.

"Thank you Anna." Elsa said, surreptitiously reaching behind the balustrade and giving her sister's hand a quick squeeze to let her know that she shared the younger woman's nerves.

Nobody ever had to tell Anna to be herself, she reflected at the sight of Anna's giddy smile. If being true to yourself was daring, Anna was the bravest person she knew.

Elsa reflected on her own tentative steps in that direction today – deliberately eschewing the beautiful dresses picked out for her that morning in favour of one of her own crystalline creations, for instance. She remembered the awed silence of a thousand held breaths when she had first stepped out onto the balcony, dazzling in the afternoon sunlight. It had been terrifying, but exhilarating at the same time. Maybe, just maybe they could accept her after all.

This is me, she thought. I have to let them in. I have to _own_ my powers as both a queen and, she hesitated as the word elbowed its way into her thoughts, as a sorceress.

Elsa closed her eyes and squeezed Anna's hand once more, trying to draw energy from the vivacious spirit beside her.

"I am not ashamed to say," Elsa began, "that what happened here this week past was a product of fear. My fear. I have tried so long to deny what I am that I let this fear get the better of me and, in the end, and you all suffered for it. So I ran away. And for that I _am_ ashamed.

"They say you always hurt the ones you love. Well, I hurt Arendelle. But the one thing I learnt in the ice was that the way to fix that hurt isn't to deny love, or run from it, but to embrace it. I learnt that love, while it can't change a person… love will help them change themselves. Love will thaw."

Elsa felt the hand she was gripping tightly squeeze back and glanced again to the woman by her side, forgetting for the moment that thousands were hanging on her every word.

"The cure for fear is love. I love Arendelle. Arendelle is in my blood. I was a fool to drive myself away, out of fear, but love is why I have returned here, and here I'll stay. I… I can only hope that in time, I will be able to prove myself worthy of her love in return."

At this a cheer erupted across the courtyard, resolving itself into emphatic _hurrahs_, shouts of "Queen Elsa!" and more than a few calls of "Snow Queen!"

"You nailed it!" Anna whispered into her sister's ear over the roar of the crowd. Elsa just smiled shyly.

"Oh!" Anna exclaimed as she turned back to the cheering multitude, raising both arms for attention and inadvertently dragging Elsa's arm up in the process before remembering to let go, "Umm, so, everyone, sorry. Hello again. Chancellor speaking."

Slowly the cries died down.

"Uh, so we were thinking because you all love Queen Elsa's ice powers now and she totally wants to use them for stuff that'll, you know, help people - why don't you all come back here in a week and Elsa, I mean, Queen Elsa will make the whole courtyard into an ice skating rink! It'll be a big party and nobody will get frozen, we promise!"

After several long minutes of waves and smiles, the cheers from the crowd showed no sign of subsiding so the women turned and led one and other back into the castle. As soon as they were beyond sight of the balcony, Anna grabbed Elsa by both shoulders and began joyously bouncing up and down on the spot like an excited puppy. The queen couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh Elsa, that was great! Did you hear them cheer? They love you!"

"It… it didn't go too badly did it?" Elsa agreed uncertainly, still trying to process her feelings on the event. She had laid herself open in a way she had never before dared and felt, to her surprise, not terror or shame but… relief. For a moment she had felt something like the freedom she had experienced on the North Mountain, but this time it felt more _real_. More earned. It was elating.

"I couldn't have done it without you Anna." Elsa said, wrapping her sister up in a warm embrace. "You must be rubbing off on me."

Anna returned the hug enthusiastically, kicking both feet up behind her with a squeal and causing Elsa to stumble forward under her weight.

"Whoa now! Come on, if we don't get to supper soon there'll be no time to pack for the trip tomorrow!"

With that, Elsa grabbed the princess' hand and strode off for the hallway, leaving Anna to hitch up the hem of her dress as she stumbled along behind.

"So we're definitely going then?" Anna asked brightly, amused by her sister's uncharacteristic exuberance and noticing as she looked behind them that it seemed to be manifesting as a trail of frosty footprints along the carpet.

"Of course! If everything hadn't taken so long today we'd be on our way already." Elsa replied over her shoulder, noticing Anna's expression become more thoughtful as she spoke.

"It's just for a day, Anna." Elsa reassured her, "I meant what I said out there - I'm not running away again."

"No, it's not that. I just wasn't sure what the plan was so I invited-"

"Kristoff?" Elsa said in surprise, stopping up short so suddenly that Anna ran into the back of her, slipping on her train and throwing her arms around the queen's hips as she fell.

The door to the dining hall had just opened before them and out of it stepped a tall, solidly built blonde man wearing a fur-lined tunic and hat.

"Your majesty." He said, instantly removing his hat and bowing deeply.

"Um, hi." Said a small voice from waist-height behind the queen.

Kristoff peeked upward and saw an immaculate auburn hairdo emerge from Elsa's side, followed by a pair of big blue eyes and a sheepish grin. He quickly cast his gaze back to the floor to hide his smile.

"Hello Anna- uh, princess." He said.

Elsa planted her feet, torn between helping Anna up and sparing them both further embarrassment. She had actually been hoping to have a word with Kristoff soon, wanting to get to know him if only for her sister's sake. But now that she was face to face with him again for the first time since the thaw it just felt like an intrusion, as unfair as that seemed.

"It's… good to see you again." She eventually settled on, allowing the words to take on a slightly questioning tone.

"Yes, you too your, um, ma'am." Kristoff replied falteringly. He stood back up straight but kept his hat in his hands, wringing it between his palms nervously. Anna too had managed to stand at the queen's side and Kristoff looked to her flushed face imploringly.

"Elsa, I thought Kristoff would be able to help with our trip and he's been dying to-" Anna rambled.

"It's alright Anna, after all we have been through, there's no need to stand on ceremony." Elsa said, secretly enjoying Kristoff's discomfort as she turned to address him, "I'd be delighted if you dined with us this evening."

* * *

"This stuff is great!" Kristoff said as he spooned Lingonberry jam onto a fist-sized heel of bread he held in one hand.

Seated at his side, Anna nudged him in the ribs and pointedly glanced at the silver fork she held daintily in her own hand. Kristoff nodded sagely, placed the bread on his plate then stabbed it with a fork before continuing.

"I, uh, haven't eaten this good in weeks," He continued, picking up the fork and taking a large bite out of the bread stuck to the end, "been nothing but carrots!"

Anna let out an exasperated sigh and returned to her own meal.

"It's the least we could do." Said Elsa, quite amused by the mountain man's table manners and Anna's increasingly hopeless attempts to rein him in, "I never had a chance to thank you for everything you've done. I know my sister can be… wilful. It couldn't have been an easy task to help her the way you did."

"Ha! You got that right." Kristoff said with his mouth full, beginning to loosen up to the conversation. Anna simply stared into the bottom of her wine glass as she took another gulp.

"And there's no hard feelings about setting that snow monster on me. I mean," here he paused for effect as a broad grin came over his face, "Olaf can be a handful, but he's alright once you get to know him."

Despite what he felt to be a sterling delivery, it seemed that the joke had fallen flat.

"I really am sorry about everything I put you and Anna through." Elsa replied genuinely, "If there's some way I can make it up to you-"

Kristoff propped an elbow on the table and leaned forward.

"Well I've been thinking about that." He said, casting a nervous glance at Anna.

Oh no, thought Elsa, feeling the bottom fall out of her stomach. He's not going to ask for my blessing, is he? Between the wine and Kristoff's easy manner, she'd been letting her guard down. Suddenly she felt the doors inside her mind slam shut and that odd jealousy that had been prickling at her all through their dinner rush in at full force.

"And… oh you've finished your wine. Hey, uh, excuse me?" Kristoff continued, motioning to one of the attendants to refill Anna's glass.

"Don't you think she's had enough wine? She _is_ only eighteen you know." Elsa said to Kristoff icily.

"Oh, err, yeah." He sputtered, caught off guard by the queen's intimidating gaze and the steel in her voice, "maybe…"

"Thank you for your concern big sister, but I think I shall have another." Anna said, holding up her glass and poking out her tongue in a show of particularly unladylike defiance.

Elsa sighed.

"It'll be an early start tomorrow Anna and I don't want to have to put up with you being tired and grumpy from too much wine."

"Oh yeah? Well how would you like to put up with me being grumpy _now_ from not enough wine?"

"Anna, that doesn't even-"

"Yeah, so this trip you're planning." Kristoff interjected, scratching at the back of his head, "ah, so what I was gonna ask you was if it would be alright if I could come along? As a guide? Because you said you wanted to make it up to me so I thought maybe this could be how?"

He finished with an uncertain shrug. By now the sisters were glowering at each other across the table. Elsa turned back to their guest.

"Is that all you wanted?" she blurted.

"Well, yeah. What did you think I was going to ask?" Kristoff said.

"Oh, nothing, it's just, ah, I'd already assumed you were coming. Anna has been quite insistent."

"Really? She's the one who kept nagging me about not making a big deal out of it. It's almost like she was trying to keep me away from you. But I figured it was only right to get your permission."

"Well, you have it, with my thanks." Elsa said with a relieved smile.

"I was glad to hear you thought it important to get the trolls' opinion on how the magic had effected Anna." She went on.

"Oh yeah, Anna felt very cold when she came to me yesterday."

Princess Anna, who had quietly had her glass refilled while Elsa and Kristoff were engaged in conversation almost choked on her half-swallowed mouthful of wine.

"That was only because Elsa froze my dress and I'd only just gotten changed and–" she protested.

"She _froze_ you again?" Kristoff turned a critical eye towards Elsa.

"She _felt_ very cold?" the queen retorted, raising an eyebrow.

"No, haha, Elsa and I were just playing, it was nothing. I'm fine now, uh… see?" Anna said, scooting back on her chair and jumping up to dance a little jig as if that would prove her point. In a way, it did, as both Kristoff and Elsa snorted with unintended laughter at the bemusing display.

I might have my powers, Elsa reflected, but Anna's magic is even stronger – without even trying, she's managed to charm the both of us.

And there it was, that hurt again at the thought of having to share Anna's affections. Elsa couldn't help but warm to Kristoff and wanted nothing more, she was sure, than to see Anna with a good man like him. Then why did she feel this way? If her love for Anna was of a different nature to Kristoff's, why did she want her sister all for herself?

"We're both just concerned for you Anna." Elsa said after Anna had sat back down, "And even if you are fine, the more I learn about how my magic works, the better I'll be able to control it. The trolls can help with that, right Kristoff?"

"It can't hurt." Kristoff replied, cleaning the last of the gravy off his plate with a finger, "I thought we might be able to take a detour up to the North Mountain as well, while we're out there. I really would love to see that castle again."

"Really?" Elsa said, lighting up at the suggestion.

"Absolutely, yeah. Your ice is amazing! Uh, if I may say…"

"Thank you sir," Elsa smiled, sharing Kristoff's enthusiasm, "coming from an ice expert, I take that as high praise. Once we're safely out of Arendelle I can show you more ice creations if you'd like?"

"I'd like that very much, your highness." He said earnestly.

"Please Kristoff, call me Elsa." She said.

* * *

Anna did indeed have another glass of wine, and then another, before Elsa reminded her that she still needed to pack for the trip and hustled her off to her room. Elsa, of course, had prepared for the journey earlier in the day so she and Kristoff retired instead to an adjacent drawing room after supper to discuss the particulars of the trip with the castle steward.

"…So the trolls adopted you?" Elsa asked, as Kristoff walked her back to her chambers late in the evening once the arrangements had been concluded.

"Sort of. They just kind of let me in and I stuck around. The ice-cutters I'd been staying with since my parents died didn't seem to mind, but then they weren't really family, you know? I guess family is what you make it, huh?"

"Could they teach you their magic?" Elsa went on, curious.

"Nah, it doesn't work like that." Kristoff replied, "You gotta be a troll to use troll magic. They didn't know what to make of me, really. I remember they tried to feed me and Sven rocks for the first week or so!"

Elsa laughed.

"Still, it must have been fascinating." She said.

"I suppose… I never really thought much of it to be honest. It's funny how you just get used to things when you're a kid. Your life can get turned upside down, and then half a year later that's what's normal for ya."

Elsa could relate to that, alright. She nodded.

"If anything," he went on, "it was just kind of lonely. But that never bothered me."

"Alright then, tell me about my sister." Elsa said, changing the subject, "You've been getting to know her these last few days, same as me. You know we were separated for a long time, right?"

"Yeah, she told me about it. But really, she doesn't say all that much about herself – you're all that she talks about when she's with me. I almost feel like I know you better than I know her!"

"I… well I hope-" Elsa said, suddenly stumbling for words. Kristoff laughed.

"Ha, don't worry," he said jovially, "she's been doing nothing but singing your praises. I'd almost be jealous if you weren't her sister."

"_Jealous_?" Elsa said, feeling her eyes bulge and her throat constrict as the word forced its way out.

Kristoff grimaced slightly as he realised he'd accidentally crossed a line. You're speaking to a _queen_, he reminded himself. A queen who can zap you to death with her magical powers on the spot if she wanted to. You have to remember your place.

He'd been getting along so well with Elsa after their dinner that he had almost forgotten. The last thing he wanted to do was make her think she was dealing with yet another Hans.

"I, uhh… sorry. I don't meant to imply that it's, uh, my place to get jealous of Princess Anna or anything. I know I'm not anything special. I think she's just… I mean I'm very fond of her. And um…" He trailed off.

Elsa shook her head and tried to control her breathing. She could feel the coldness pouring out of her heart with each beat, spreading to her fingertips and the soles of her feet, into the space around them. Tendrils of frost were creeping up the skirting boards. With a sidelong glance she could see Kristoff's breath steaming in the chilly air.

The guilt playing on Elsa's conscious had stepped in before her mind had a chance to weigh Kristoff's words. Of course he had meant it as a joke- a sign of their newfound friendship. And yet for an instant she was back in the ballroom on the night of her coronation, panicked at the thought of being exposed- of losing everything as a result. Of losing Anna.

To see that Kristoff had taken this reaction as merely an accusation of impropriety on his part was, frankly, a relief. She willed the cold back into her body and felt warmth return to the corridor around them. Hopefully Kristoff hadn't noticed.

"There's no need to apologise, Kristoff." She said trying to keep her voice level as though being magnanimous towards his minor slight, "I'm glad, actually, for your concern for her. Anna has been alone for a long time. Just… bear that in mind."

Kristoff was sure for a moment that he could feel a bite in the air like he had stepped out of a warm house and into a snowstorm. A shiver ran down his spine and he stuck his hands into his pockets just as the feeling inexplicably subsided.

"Yes ma'am." He said stiffly.

"I'm glad you offered to join us on this trip," Elsa added, slipping comfortably back into pleasant formality as they rounded a corner, "we really do need an experienced guide. I doubt Anna remembers the way to the valley, considering the state she was in at the time."

"Yeah," Kristoff agreed, "and it's been, what, ten years since you were there?"

This time queen Elsa stopped dead in her tracks.

"How do you know about that?" she asked, turning on Kristoff with her brows furrowed.

Kristoff had thought he was growing used to the queen's intensity, but this time he was at a loss. Had he put his foot in it _again_?

"Uh, I was there, when Grand Pabbie fixed Anna." He offered. "After you struck her with your powers. The first time, I mean, when you two were just kids. That's how I originally met the trolls, you see. I don't-"

"You… you were there? What did you see?" Elsa demanded. Once again, Kristoff could feel the temperature drop around him.

"Well, it was a long time ago. I saw Pabbie change Anna's memories, uhh… and he gave your parents some advice about your powers. And, um. I'm sorry that's really all I can remember. Is this important?"

Elsa was reeling. With her parents gone and the trolls keeping to themselves as always, she had been safe in the knowledge that that night had long ago become nothing more than a shameful memory – hers to bear alone. But now?

"Does Anna know about this?" she asked, snapping at Kristoff in spite of herself.

"I… I thought she did. I haven't told her if that's what you mean."

"Good, I-"

Elsa looked up into Kristoff's perplexed expression.

"I want to tell her. I plan to tell her. Soon." she said defensively, "This is… family, Kristoff. It's my place to tell her what happened. Why we did what we did. Could you keep it a secret a little while longer? Please?"

Kristoff had no idea where this had all come from. Elsa's powers were common knowledge now. Why the secrecy over this one detail? He hesitated, searching Elsa's tormented expression for some sign of how to proceed.

"Of course, your majesty." He said simply.

"Thank you. Well…" she said, looking quickly away, "my room is just down the hall and the guest suite is, I'm afraid, quite some distance back the way we came, so I think it would be best if we parted ways here. Thank you again for your company this evening and I look forward to our journey tomorrow."

Kristoff smiled pensively, still unsure of what to make of their conversation's final turn.

"Yeah, bright and early. G'night y- uh, Elsa." He said, bowing a little uncertainly.

"Goodnight." She said.

With that Elsa turned and walked on without a second glance. After a moment, Kristoff shrugged and did likewise, wondering how in a few days he'd gone from running ice down rocky mountain paths to navigating fraught conversations with royalty in lofty palace halls. His thoughts turned to princess Anna, but he instantly dismissed any idea of trying to search her out now.

"I think I'd better check on Sven…" He said to no one in particular as he bypassed the guest wing and veered off towards the stables. Now, a night spent in a barn with a reindeer? That was something he could understand.

A few paces on and Elsa finally let out her breath. She would have to discuss this with Anna now, no doubt about it. She honestly didn't know why she hadn't yet- the opportunity had presented itself in the garden yesterday, but some nagging fear had held her back.

I'll speak to her tomorrow once we're on the road, Elsa resolved. After all, isn't the real reason I'm taking her on this trip is to see if the trolls can return her true memories to her?

As she passed, Elsa noticed the door to Anna's room ajar and candlelight burning within. She was reminded of the long dark nights years ago when she would sneak out of her room while the castle was asleep and make her way silently to that door. On a handful of occasions she had worked up the courage to peer in, and look upon that beautiful moonlit face which haunted her dreams.

But tonight, the room was empty. The bed was still made and at its foot was a large trunk, lying open with various crumpled outfits and bric-a-brac scattered about it.

"Oh Anna." Elsa said to herself, regretting sending her little sister off on her own after dinner in the state she was in. She checked the adjoining bathroom, also empty, before taking a step back out into the hallway and casting furtive glances up and down its length.

It was late and with Kristoff gone the castle halls were dead quiet. Worry began to creep over the queen, sidelining the annoyance she felt. She strode fast to the next door along, the door to her own room, and opened it; feeling the handle turn to ice within her grasp.

In the dim glow cast by a single candle burnt almost to nothing on her nightstand, Elsa could see Anna lying on the bed, fast asleep.

"You little troublemaker!" Elsa whispered as she shut the door behind her.

In the stillness of the room she could hear a gentle snore emanate from the sprawled figure of her sister. Anna seemingly hadn't bothered to change for bed, merely stripping down to her underclothes and half-crawling under Elsa's bedsheets. And, yes – stepping stealthily to the bedside, Elsa could see that while her braids hung loose, in her ears Anna still wore the beautiful silver snowflake studs she'd spotted earlier.

"Just for tonight, huh?" Elsa said with a tender smile. With every little act of kindness from her sister, she felt her heart melt anew. How could she ever repay that devotion? For that matter, how had she ever thought she could live without it?

Elsa looked down and, with a laugh, vaporised the crystal dress she wore then peeled off the simple shift beneath it, leaving her in an identical state of undress as her sister. Relishing the feel of cool linens against her bare skin, she carefully climbed in next to the younger woman. Elsa could now see in Anna's hand, lying open on her breast where it had fallen, a book. Peering closer, she read the title - _Selected Works of Sappho of Greece_.

She cursed to herself silently. After their long talk yesterday, Gerda had recommended the poet to the queen, among many other works she thought might help to 'guide' the young woman. This book had been easiest to find in the castle library as Elsa vaguely remembered the name from her tuition in the classics. She'd set it aside to read and obviously Anna had found while she waited here for Elsa.

Oh well, she reasoned, Anna shouldn't think anything of her queen studying the classics. Carefully, so as not to rouse her, Elsa reached over and lifted the book. Her eyes briefly alighting on the words 'love shook my heart' on the open page as she placed it on the nightstand beside her sister's sleeping form.

Leaning over her like this, Elsa could feel Anna's hair brushing against her arm. It smelt to Elsa like elderberry and honeysuckle, like sunshine after summer rain. An intoxicating scent. She could feel Anna's breath cool against her neck too, sending a shiver down her spine in spite of her usual resilience to the cold.

Hesitantly, as if fighting a siren's call, she looked down into her sister's face. It was closer to her own than she could ever remember seeing it, even since their reunion. Elsa's heart shook.

Without a thought she leaned in, as if compelled by something beyond reason, and pressed her trembling lips to Anna's. It was soft at first, barely a touch for fear of waking her. But tasting sweet wine on her mouth emboldened Elsa, drawing her into the kiss as the sensations stirred something powerful and hungry inside her.

"Hmmm." A moan escaped the younger woman.

Elsa gasped and quickly lay back down on her side of the bed, trying to control her heavy breathing as she pretended to sleep. At her side the queen felt Anna stir, roll and cuddle up to her. The flame-haired beauty mumbled something sleepily beside her ear. It sounded to Elsa like, "I missed you."

Eventually the faint snoring returned and Elsa un-tensed her body. Into the darkness that enveloped them both she simply spoke-

"I love you Anna" as a deep and dreamless sleep took her.

* * *

They were delayed the next morning, as Elsa and Gerda helped the apologetic Anna re-pack her travelling trunk.

"I want you to look after the council while Anna and I are gone. It should only be for a day." The queen said to Gerda as they prepared to leave.

"Oh I won't hear of it m'lady," Gerda said, "my place on the council is precarious as it is, and you know how I feel about politics. Just leave the Earl in charge, I'll be sure to keep an eye on him for you."

As their small carriage crossed the causeway to the mainland, Elsa poked her head out the side and looked back for the first time on the grand castle that represented at once both her palace and her prison. They'd meant it for the best, she thought.

"No dreams last night?" Anna said to Elsa once she was back inside.

"No, none." She said. Well except one, she added to herself; averting her eyes from her sister's sympathetic gaze as her heart began to flutter.

She thought about the dreams. Until last night Elsa had had them every night since she was young, but they had only grown more terrifying since nearly losing Anna. No matter what it took, she could never let that happen again.

"Kristoff?" Elsa asked into the exterior divider.

"Yeah?" came the muffled reply from the driver's seat.

"When we get to the end of town, can you turn down the road that leads up into the hills by the forest? There's just a quick detour I need us to make."

"I think I know the way." Kristoff said.

Elsa's legs felt weak as she walked the short distance from the road up the bare hillside to where two lonely standing-stones stood at its peak. Anna trailed a few paces behind, keeping her distance out of respect.

It was a bright day in early summer, and the short grass was still sprinkled with wildflowers. Elsa had picked two purple crocus flowers near the base of the hill, crafting a fine crystalline vase out of ice as she walked and placing them within. In the shadow of the stones she kneeled and placed the vase between them.

Head bowed, she tried to stand, but her legs refused to carry her. Guilt and heartache and, yes, even anger nailed her to the spot as she felt Anna approach.

"This is the first time I've even-" Elsa stopped, a sob catching in her throat.

"I… I should have been here for you. I'm so sorry Anna."

Tears rolled down Elsa's pale cheeks, falling to the ground like glittering diamonds. Anna kneeled down and grasped her sister's hand.

"You're here now. We're together now." Anna said, feeling tears well in her own eyes.

"I'll never let you go again Anna," Elsa said, turning her red-rimmed eyes on to her sister, "I promise."

"Me too." Anna cried, wrapping her arms around her sister tightly as if afraid she might fly away.

"Me too." She repeated.


End file.
